Give it a TRI

[shaper]

I swear, getting back into the swing of things is harder than the actual sessions. Been away for like 4 months from it all, and contemplating doing a 6 month build to Durban. But keep things light and with a goal to finish. 

The trick is not to get out of things and try to keep a base when there is no intensity of hard training needed.... makes it much easier than starting at ground zero!!

 

Welcome back

[pista]

I swear, getting back into the swing of things is harder than the actual sessions. Been away for like 4 months from it all, and contemplating doing a 6 month build to Durban. But keep things light and with a goal to finish. 

It's hard when you know where you should be but it's so far away.Hang in there and take it easy.

[@ndy]

So another noob question here

 

Swimming... 

I am getting much better wrt my technique and my breathing, especially since I started doing drills to get comfortable in the water and swim without constantly being out of breath and feeling like I am drowning. However, still can't swim more than 4 laps continuous without having to stop for a few seconds at least to catch my breath. I am sure a bunch of you have had the same problem and how long will it take for me to start getting comfortable enough in the water to swim upward op 1000m without stopping?

Some great advice so far. I would add that you may want to try one of those snorkels that extend up the middle of your face allowing you to swim without turning to breathe. I haven't tried it but I've heard nothing but good things especially for less experienced swimmers. Plenty of more experienced swimmers use them too as I believe they help with stroke correction.

[amr63]

with all the post-Kona race analysis going on elsewhere and a spotlight there on whether some athletes rode too hard on the bike thereby compromising their run, I was wondering whether/how this translates to MOP racing at olympic distances & less. In other words, is it possible to bike too hard at short distance racing? In my limited experience I've just biked as hard as my riding fitness allows, then run as hard as my run fitness allows. Is it more complicated than that? (bearing in mind that most of us are time-trialling against ourselves the whole race (as opposed to one-on-one racing)). Give us your insights/thoughts

[Swim.Bike.Run]

with all the post-Kona race analysis going on elsewhere and a spotlight there on whether some athletes rode too hard on the bike thereby compromising their run, I was wondering whether/how this translates to MOP racing at olympic distances & less. In other words, is it possible to bike too hard at short distance racing? In my limited experience I've just biked as hard as my riding fitness allows, then run as hard as my run fitness allows. Is it more complicated than that? (bearing in mind that most of us are time-trialling against ourselves the whole race (as opposed to one-on-one racing)). Give us your insights/thoughts

 

I race olympic distance and yes, it's more complicated than just going as hard as you can on the bike

[Wheelsuck]

I race olympic distance and yes, it's more complicated than just going as hard as you can on the bike

 

with all the post-Kona race analysis going on elsewhere and a spotlight there on whether some athletes rode too hard on the bike thereby compromising their run, I was wondering whether/how this translates to MOP racing at olympic distances & less. In other words, is it possible to bike too hard at short distance racing? In my limited experience I've just biked as hard as my riding fitness allows, then run as hard as my run fitness allows. Is it more complicated than that? (bearing in mind that most of us are time-trialling against ourselves the whole race (as opposed to one-on-one racing)). Give us your insights/thoughts

Going hard has to be a quantum so Heart Rate or Watts. You have to have some gauge of what the effort is. For Olympic distance you can go harder/faster as it is shorter but you will pay if you are not conditioned in training  to sustain a certain level and train at threshold level rather than just training. So you say that you race as hard as your fitness/conditioning allows but if you change your training to get your body used to racing at threshold the body will adapt and it will be easier. Classic example is Lionel Sanders Kona last week-he overbiked and when he posted his numbers even a retard like myself saw that he overbiked-then he ran the second slowest marathon of the pro's. If you look at the thread about the Kona prediction his numbers was posted -you can see what he did.   

[shaper]

with all the post-Kona race analysis going on elsewhere and a spotlight there on whether some athletes rode too hard on the bike thereby compromising their run, I was wondering whether/how this translates to MOP racing at olympic distances & less. In other words, is it possible to bike too hard at short distance racing? In my limited experience I've just biked as hard as my riding fitness allows, then run as hard as my run fitness allows. Is it more complicated than that? (bearing in mind that most of us are time-trialling against ourselves the whole race (as opposed to one-on-one racing)). Give us your insights/thoughts

As I posted on the Kona thread with regard to my analysis of Sanders bike leg.  Depending on the distance and more importantly the distance of the run to follow, this should determine how hard you go on the bike and what you try to conserve for the run.  Obviously the longer the distance of the run, the more you try to pace better and conserve without going as hard as possible and having nothing left.  If you train and race with a power meter, then knowing your FTP you can try to pace your cycle leg based your % of FTP, being your intensity Factor (IF).

 

So for an olympic distance with a short run you can go just under as hard as you can and should still have something left for the run.  The dynamics of olympic distances may well be very different as these races are often draft legal, especially if is an ITU race.  So tactics may play a bigger part.  

 

EDIT:  Even if you do not have a power meter, then the intensity factor can be percentage of perceived effort. i.e Sprint/Olympic 95% of flat out, 70.3 at 70-79% and Ironman at 60-70%.

 

Rule of thumb : 

 

INTENSITY FACTOR

Intensity factor (IF) is your average power divided by your FTP. Knowing the percentage of FTP for a ride gives you an idea of how hard you rode compared to your maximum output. This figure is key for judging effort in races.

As a guide, Ironman should be ridden at an IF of 0.6-0.7 (60-70 per cent of FTP); Ironman 70.3 at an IF or around 0.7-0.79; and Olympic and sprint-distance races at IF of 0.9-1.05 – the lower intensity evening out the longer bike and run distances for long-course events.

You can fine-tune your own intensity by experimenting with race simulations or B-races. Training at the correct IF for your race prepares you for the rigours of your event, while keeping an eye on this range of watts during your race helps avoid going too hard or taking things too easy.

https://www.triradar.com/training-advice/training-with-a-power-meter/

Edited October 19, 2018 by shaper

[@ndy]

with all the post-Kona race analysis going on elsewhere and a spotlight there on whether some athletes rode too hard on the bike thereby compromising their run, I was wondering whether/how this translates to MOP racing at olympic distances & less. In other words, is it possible to bike too hard at short distance racing? In my limited experience I've just biked as hard as my riding fitness allows, then run as hard as my run fitness allows. Is it more complicated than that? (bearing in mind that most of us are time-trialling against ourselves the whole race (as opposed to one-on-one racing)). Give us your insights/thoughts

 

I think a lot depends on the conditioning of the individual athlete. To be anecdotal I used to have to pace myself pretty carefully for an Olympic distance race when I was training for that distance. After two years of training for longer distances I can now take on an Olympic distance race at what feels like a flat out pace all the way. Maybe I could get faster times if I did pace myself but my point is that I don't blow up completely like I used to. If I trained for shorter distances I presume I'd have faster times but maybe I'd still be risking a blow out if I over cooked it. (maybe this could be explained from a bunch of three letter abbreviation type statistics gleaned from training peaks but I don't use it). 

 

I listened to some interviews before the 70.3 worlds and I think it was Lucy Charles who said that when she first started out at 70.3 distances she was pacing herself but with her focus going towards full Ironman and the field improving so much that she feels all the women go at pretty much 100% all the way in a 70.3 race, therefore for her the tactics are almost non existent. I assume she would take on an Olympic distance event going all out.

[IceCreamMan]

So, I receive an email from Ironman, I am 4206th in the age category in the whole universe....

[amr63]

great answers, thanks.

 

I don’t have a power meter (yet!?) so my plan is:

-do a FTP test on my indoor trainer (30min TT or similar) (with proper warmup in a well ventilated/cooled room etc)

-use my average heart rate for the last 20min of the FTP test as my lactate heart rate

-use that lactate heart rate as a guide to how hard I should ride when racing (94-99% lactate HR for Sprint-Olympic distance).

 

I’ll let you know how it goes

Edited October 19, 2018 by amr63

[shaper]

So, I receive an email from Ironman, I am 4206th in the age category in the whole universe....

Well done!!  Also got the same email, think they send them out periodically in the hope that you will maybe sign up for some more races and chase a better ranking, which is based on the points you get at each race.

[Chris_]

This is disgusting.

 

 

 

[pista]

This is disgusting.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUAl559y7ZY

 

Disgusting??

[Chris_]

Disgusting??

 

Extreme sarcasm.

 

(apologies)

[shaper]

Extreme sarcasm.

 

(apologies)

Disgusting because he sold to facebook and was involved with uber?? .... or that he can do a 5:30hr Zwift session 

 

Edit: All the training and the top pf the range gym equipment alas did not help as he DNF. He had a good swim and a good bike but did not start the run

 

http://eu.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman/world-championship/results.aspx?y=2018&rd=20181013&race=worldchampionship&bidid=1798&detail=1#axzz5UMNROIDU

Edited October 19, 2018 by shaper

[Chris_]

After doing no sports for 10 years, this guy decided to take up triathlon. He won his first race. Won. He then went to Kona. 

 

I find that pretty amazing.